The Great Lakes Brewing Company

September 23, 2013

The first craft brewery in Ohio, Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) has been creating award-winning lagers and ales for 25 years. When brothers Daniel and Patrick Conway opened the doors in 1988, GLBC was a small microbrewery committed to creating bold, flavorful beers. Now, 25 years later, Great Lakes Brewing Company far surpasses their original microbrewery status producing more than 130,000 barrels annually in 13 states – as far as Minnesota and North Carolina.

Recently, GLBC was the only Ohio brewery to be included on The Daily Meal’s “Top 25 American Craft Breweries.” As most celebrated microbrewery in the state, GLBC has strong ties to the local community and showcases this commitment by naming each of its 14 year-around and seasonal beers after local historical events, people and places. This “Exceptional Family of Beers” includes Dortmunder Gold, Eliot Ness, Burning River, Commodore Perry and Edmund Fitzgerald. And, of course, there’s also the seasonal favorite “Christmas Ale” that flies off the shelves faster than the holiday season’s most popular toy.

In keeping with their commitment to innovation and in celebration of their silver anniversary, GLBC took on the task of brewing a beer replicating the methods and ingredients used 5,000 years ago by monks. The efforts to combine modern technology and centuries-old techniques have caught the attention of not only the beer-making world, but also The New York Times and major papers around the world.

Guests can tour GLBC’s six brewery buildings, peruse the gift shop (and perhaps take home a six-pack of their favorites), and pull up a seat at the Victorian-era brewpub where visitors will find farm-fresh favorites and comfort food classics like pierogi and pork chops.

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